Atherton, CA – 10/06/2025– Menlo College is honored to currently have on display a work by internationally recognized artist Felix González-Torres. His candy “spill” work “Untitled” (L.A.) of 1991 is installed in the Bowman Library through January 31, 2026. This iconic work is jointly owned by Art Bridges and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, which have generously loaned the work to Menlo College. On 18 October 2025, from 11:30 AM to 4:30 PM, the public is encouraged to view the installation and participate in a series of activities celebrating the artwork and González-Torres. The events will take place in Bowman Library during this year’s OAKtoberFest, also on 18 October; OAKtoberFest is Menlo College’s largest annual event for students, alumni, families, and the community, featuring a day full of live music, food trucks, sports, competitions, and fun activities.
“Untitled” (L.A.) made its debut in the library during an opening celebration of the exhibit on May 7, 2025, when students, faculty, staff and community members gathered to engage with the work. In addition to the 18 October celebration of González-Torres’s “Untitled” (L.A.), other programming includes a reception and panel discussion on 3 November 2025, from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM, and an open mic night on 29 January 2026, from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM. These events allow for further engagement with the work by students (including students of the Menlo College Art Club and students in studio art and art appreciation courses), faculty and staff, and the broader community of the Bay Area.
Art Bridges describes the work in the following way.
As one of Felix González-Torres’s powerful candy-spill works, “Untitled” (L.A.) finds beauty in the everyday by transforming a bounty of green, cellophane-wrapped candies into a dazzling arrangement of color, form, and texture. Viewers are encouraged to take and taste the candy, activating the work in a way that suggests a wide range of profound meanings. The participation of each viewer creates a moment of engagement that is sensory and personal. The intimate nature and fluctuating structure of González-Torres’s candy works are often interpreted as being related to tragedy in the artist’s private life.
“Untitled” (L.A.) was created in 1991, the same year that González-Torres’s beloved partner Ross Laycock lost his life due to an AIDS-related illness. The gradual depletion and replenishment of Gonzáles-Torres’s candy-spills has been seen as metaphoric, seeming to represent the deterioration of a human body ravaged by illness. At the same time, it can also be seen as a type of immortality generated through ritual remembrance and continual recreation. However, González-Torres avoided assigning explicit interpretations to his candy works, preferring them to remain available for all to experience in a personal way.
The piece stands alongside other major works on Menlo’s 40-acre Silicon Valley campus, including Impact by Los Gatos-based sculptor David Middlebrook, a monumental outdoor sculpture combining a bronze canoe and a marble column that was commissioned by Menlo College alumnus David Irmer ’58. Impact was installed earlier this year. The College expanded its collection in recent years through initiatives like the Silicon Valley Sculpture exhibitions in 2020, 2021, and 2022. Many of the pieces from those exhibitions remain on display on the College’s campus, including works by Ruth Aizuss Migdal, Foon Sham, Antoinette Prien Schultze, Michael Kesselman, Richard Starks, Giuseppe Palumbo, Mark Knize, and Priyanka Rana. Collectively, they create lasting opportunities for reflection and connection. Other ongoing initiatives include opportunities for Menlo College professors of art and their students to exhibit their work on campus.
By placing González-Torres’ installation in the Bowman Library, a space open to all Menlo College community members and the general public, Menlo offers students and other visitors a space where art, learning, and culture intersect. The OAKtoberFest celebration and appreciation event will celebrate “Untitled” (L.A.), while also affirming Menlo’s commitment to fostering a vibrant, creative campus environment as the College looks ahead to its Centennial in 2027.
Artist: Felix González-TorresTitle: “Untitled” (L.A.)Date: 1991Medium: Green candies in clear wrappers, endless supplySize: Dimensions vary with installation, original dimensions: approximately 192 x 14 x 1.5 inchesOriginal weight: 50 lbsCredit line: Jointly owned by Art Bridges and Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art
Contact Information:
Press Contact: pr@menlo.edu
About Menlo College:
Menlo College is a small private, nonprofit college founded in 1927 with a mission to “ignite potential and educate students to make meaningful contributions in the innovation economy.” Situated in the heart of Silicon Valley, Menlo College offers undergraduate degrees in business and psychology, as well as three graduate degrees: a Master of Science in Information Systems, a Master of Science in Financial Technology, and a Master of Arts in Sport and Performance Psychology. Menlo is designated as both a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander-Serving (AANAPISI) Institution.
